WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF GOING OF JOING A NATIONAL COUNCIL

[Tom Earp]

Originally Posted by PenguinTrax

First of all, take off CAPS LOCK. It's rude and considered shouting.

The benefits of joining a national organization are many, whether it be an oversight council like the NPC or just a national sorority.

You get a lot of support and assistance with things like recruitment, chapter management, etc.
You can often purchase group insurance policies, etc.
You get faster recognition and respect from campus administration

As Barb said, the benefits are much bigger with a National named organization.

Schools in this day and age feel more comfoortable knowing tha Nationals will have a better control of chapters when it comes to hazing, having insurance and control and advice.

Having a network of fellow members is becoming a bigger plus everyday.

Also, it is nice to see members from other chapters when traveling.

In starting a local, I never have had any second thoughts about affiliating with My National, LXA.

Just weigh the differences and see what you come up with. Small frog in a pond or a small frog with a bigger pond in front of you and your members.

[MTSUGURL]

Alumni support is often hard to come by with groups that are local. I know this isn't always the case, but it is more often than not.
A national board gives accountability that is not always provided in a local - locals have more liquid rules, whereas the nationals that I am most acquainted with have more steadfast policies that are more difficult to change.

[PhiBeteDean]

Hello, first let me start by introducing myself my name is Meiko Harris I am a member of Phi Beta Psi Sorority Inc. Alpha Gamma Chapter but I am also the National Executive Director of the National American Greek Council(NAGC).

We are comprised of several greek-letter orgs and our purpose is to help your organization prosper. We all have our lives ,responsibilites other than our greek life. Sometimes that may draw us away or you can't give your full attention to an issue, such as researching about the campus politics of a school you are trying to expand to, creating rush & promo materials, looking for the best prices on para, looking for places that take small orders for para,investigating on rogue members that may be trying to cause your org trouble , helping to organize the expansion process. Helping to get together all the necessary paperwork, talking to administration on your behalf as a national presence, helping you find the right insurance plans,help planning conferences, conflict resolution(internal or external),issuing payment invoices, or just having people to talk to and bounce ideas from, these are sone of the definate benefits of joining a national council. so if you or anybody reading this is interest in joining a national council please contact the NAGC.
nationalamericangreekcouncil@yahoo.com
and visit our website: www.nationalagc.r8.org

So I hope this answer some of your questions!

[SigmaPezY60]

Originally Posted by lilsunshine214

• Traditions are hard to pass on because there are no set rules on certain things so if you DIDN'T do one thing with a new member class, they assume that's the way it is and the tradition pretty much dies out.

But as a local, you get the luxury of creating your own traditions. While most individual chapters of a national have different traditions, they do have a lot of very old traditions. As a member of a local, we're constantly building traditions. We have a written Associate Member Education process (aka pledging) which we follow closely. We continue to tweak our AME process and add to it to improve upon what has been established by our previous members. The majority of locals are young, and are still trying to improve themselves. As times change, so does our sisterhood and our policies, procedures and traditions.

Originally Posted by lilsunshine214

• A lot of times it's hard to compete with nationals for women during formal recruitment. One of the top reasons girls go through is for networking options for their future and a local can't exactly give them that.

Networking as a great perk, but being involved on campus, and having excellent academics is what matters. It would be silly to join a GLO because of networking and networking alone. It is also silly to think that National GLO's are the only ones that can help with networking. It just makes your network larger, not necessarily better.

Originally Posted by lilsunshine214

• If one person doesn't do work, the worst you have is the rest of the chapter saying "Don't do that" and sometimes that isn't enough.

Not true at all. Local organizations can't just not care, because that jeopardizes the longevity of the chapter. We may not have regional directors and National Headquarters to fine us and whatever is done by nationals...we have the existene of our entire sisterhood/brotherhood on the line when our chapter members aren't doing the work. So when one person doesn't do the work, it's a "Please get your work done...without our hard work we won't exist...then you've wasted our time" kinda thing.

Originally Posted by lilsunshine214

• A lot of locals are "4 years," not "for life." When the chapter members see that, some don't tend to take it seriously and it hurts chapter morale.

Generalization....yet mostly true in newer locals, because they don't have a strong alumni/ae base yet. We didn't start to get an active alum association until the last few years because there are more members with established careers and families and time to devote than when you graduate and are looking for a job, planning a wedding, and having kids. and this is the case with ANY alumni/ae organization. Those who tend to give back are the older ones.

Originally Posted by lilsunshine214

• It's a LOT harder to get stuff for your sorority (picture frames, etc...) and a lot of it has to be custom-ordered/bought in bulk through the chapter.

again...not true. We just have to be a bit more creative in how we get picture frames, etc... we make them. and we don't have to pay for shipping and they are usually cheaper and we love the time and effort our big sisters have put into them. My chapter uses making things with letters as a sisterhood event where we can bond and share memories.

Originally Posted by lilsunshine214

• It's hard to gain alumnae support because there is no set alumnae group.

Again a generalization.


I'm not saying I'm against Nationals at all....I just joined my sorority for the sisterhood, not the letters or national affiliation.

[SororChic6]

That was very well put. I'm in a regional sorority which recently expanded so we're still a bit small. I joined because my sisters and I clicked, not for anything else. It's nice to hear someone defending locals!